The Only Thing That's Real
by SageK
Summary: Picks up where Knockout left off


Amidst the chaos of scattering civilians and extremely angry officers in dress blues, Javier Esposito lost track of Lanie Parish, whom he had pushed to the relative safety of the ground. Flashes of red hair told him Alexis and Martha had ducked and covered, Kevin Ryan, shouting for a bus, hovering over them.

In the open, Rick Castle was hovering over Kate Beckett and Javi hoped the presence of armed and alert officers would deter the sniper from taking another shot.

_Damn it! _Well, at least he knew where Lanie had gotten off to. The M.E. had hurried forward to assist their wounded friend. He could see her motioning to Castle, who shrugged out of his jacket, which she used as a compress. Though he wasn't close, Javi thought it looked like she was putting pressure on Beckett's abdomen and not her chest.

That was good. As long as they got treatment, abdominal wounds tended to be less fatal than those to the chest.

Another shot rang out, taking a chunk out of the podium Beckett had been standing behind, followed quickly by one that embedded itself in Captain Montgomery's casket. Javi didn't have a good angle on the shooter, but another officer, shielded behind a headstone, returned fire.

Strangely, the sniper didn't seem to alter his targeting to take out the threat posed by the armed men and women of the NYPD, instead continuing to take shots at the casket and podium. Fortunately, those two things seemed to be offering cover to Lanie, Castle and Beckett, who otherwise would have been exposed to….

No, the shots stopped.

Javi looked up to see a pair of uniforms in the distance, looking down at something behind a headstone. Their body language looked…more puzzled than anything which wasn't good.

Giving the Captain's family one more look to assure that none of them had been hurt, Javi stood and called out, "What have you got?"

One of the officers, a young woman named Torres, called back, "We've secured the weapon, sir! It looks like some kind of…automated firing mechanism."

Automated firing. The continued shots allowed the shooter to escape in the chaos. Smart.

It was so much easier when the criminals were stupid.

In the distance, sirens wailed, Paramedics and more officers responding to the calls for back-up and medical assistance.

"Dad!" Alexis called out, trying to rise but Martha held her down.

Kevin joined Javi in approaching Lanie, Castle and Beckett. The author was pale faced, big hands pressing his jacket to Beckett's wounded torso as Lanie did…doctor things. Checking Beckett's breathing or something.

"We need to keep her warm. Find…something," Lanie barked at them, then looked at Castle. "One of you, get over here to support her head. We're going to roll her into the recovery position. Castle, keep pressure on that wound."

Having wriggled away from Martha, Alexis hurried forward, slipping off her spring jacket and draping it over Beckett. Kevin had knelt to support Beckett's neck, which he did as Lanie, assisted by Alexis, rolled Kate onto her side, arranging her arms and legs to support her new position.

Then Lanie was practically yanking Kevin's uniform jacket off and pressing it to Beckett's back. Javi had seen enough injuries on the battle field to know the bullet must have been a through and through and exit wounds were far nastier than the entrance points.

Alexis was crying, her hands resting on Beckett's shins. Laine was putting pressure on the exit wound, asking where the damn ambulance was. Kevin, skin gone as white as his shirt, save the stark red stains left by Lanie's fingers when she grabbed his jacket, was looking down at Beckett in wide eyed horror. Castle…he looked like he'd been shot in the gut too, pain written on his face as he begged her to hold on and tried to keep her blood from pouring out of her body.

All Javi could do was wave the ambulances closer as they roared into view.

That and pray

* * *

><p>Gunfire wasn't anything like TV and movies would lead you to believe.<p>

Intellectually, Alexis Castle knew the reality would be different…she just always hoped she'd never get the chance to find out first hand.

But she had been right there in the crowd at Captain Montgomery's funeral, right there when the shot rang out, loud and cold. She'd seen her father lunge for Detective Beckett (too late), heard Grams shout and felt someone half tackle them to the ground. As people scattered, she heard Detective Ryan, who had been the one to push her and Grams down, shouting the Beckett had been hit.

Then there were more shots. The police officers around them were reacting, returning fire.

After what seemed like hours, someone shouted that things were secure and Detective Ryan rose, stepping over to where Dad and Dr. Parish hovered over Detective Beckett. Grams tried to hold her down, but after a brief struggle, Alexis wriggled free, draping her coat over Kate and trying to help in any way she could.

Things kind of became a blur when the paramedics arrived and didn't really fall back into focus until they were all crowded nervously into a waiting room. Well, everyone except for Dr. Parish, who had gone to harass the medical staff about updates on Beckett's surgery. Dad was sitting beside her, holding her hand and staring at the wall while Grams patted his back. Alexis wondered if he was going into shock, as it didn't seem like that reaction was out of the question, and she gently patted his hand.

There was still dried blood in the creases of his knuckles and his skin was stained.

Before today, she never knew how hard it was to wash caked on, dried blood off of healthy skin.

Sitting by himself, looking lost, was Detective Beckett's dad. The poor man looked wan and almost beyond tears, but he kept murmuring to himself, "She's strong, she's strong."

Detectives Esposito and Ryan had been pacing, but after returning from the blood bank (apparently there were dozens of officers already there, waiting to donate), they sat on one of the low couches. Ryan, whose face was as pale as her own, save for an unexplained bruise on his cheek, kept rubbing his hands together. He hadn't been as bloody as dad, but no one liked having the blood of a friend, even the memory of it, on their hands.

When Esposito noticed the frantic rubbing, he placed his hand atop Ryan's fingers, leaning close to speak to him softly. Alexis couldn't hear what was said, but Ryan nodded and grasped at his partner's hand in return.

When Dr. Parish returned, everyone surged from their seats, converging on her for news. Holding up her hands to quell the flow of questions, she said, "They've managed to stop the internal bleeding. That's a very good sign. Now, after the surgeons finish, she'll be in recovery for a while before going to the ICU. 2 visitors at a time will be able to see her there, but she probably won't be awake for some time."

Considering the fears everyone had been nurturing, this was good news. Alexis found herself enfolded in her fathers arms, squeezed tight by Detective Ryan and lifted off her feet by Detective Esposito. At that point, the group more or less dissolved in to a hug free-for all.

Dad had never been one of those 'real men don't cry' sort of fathers, but it was still a little odd to see four grown men with tears in their eyes…and not for the first time that day.

At least now, they were happy tears.

* * *

><p>Comments, pretty please?<p> 


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